This weekend is Wrestlemania 41. I can’t pretend to be a huge wrestling fan. Sure, I’m following the trends and I see how the league has risen to new heights by merging with UFC and going public under Ari Emanuel and Dana White’s leadership. And of course I loved the sport as a kid in the early days when the original superstars like Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, and Jimmy “Superfly” Snucka came off the top rope.
This year, the event spans two days with countless brand touchpoints and fan activations.
I’m psyched for it and glad to be in Vegas for a slightly different reason: the 10th annual Walemania, our one-of-a-kind hip-hop-meets-wrestling classic.
I’ve known the co-founders, Wale and Kaz, for a long time. I was Wale’s agent for many years after first connecting with him on Myspace through his manager at the time that I met on Friendster. I worked with Wale helping to build out his live strategy from his first mixtape to putting out his third album that debuted #1 on the pop charts and we sold out countless shows all across the world. My friend Kaz, the wrestling and sports impresario, burst on the scene when he was the first to book a buzzing young superstar-in-the-making, Drake, at SUNY Purchase, which got the whole industry’s attention at the time. Since then he’s steadily built his reputation as a host, personality and visionary.
In 2019, I agreed to come on as a partner and co-executive producer of Walemania and it’s been an amazing experience working alongside these two. It takes a village to do something like this, but luckily we have some great partners and champions, including our Show Producer Andria Parides, Content Consigliare Brandon Pankey, Online Brand Builder Meech Golden, Kazz Law & Wale’s management team at EQT, his dope team at his new label Def Jam, and of course our home team at Nue amongst many others.
For year 10, the amazing team at Netflix is presenting the night and we promise to have huge cameos, celebrity guests, surprise performances, a live podcast of Spotify’s The Masked Man Show, and much more.
I love the format of this show. It’s part party, part exclusive live content, and part splashy performance. It brings together moments and collaborations that will never happen again on any stage. In this day and age, where everything happens online, this is one of those experiences true fans, really need to see in person.
Being in Vegas for Wrestlemania weekend keeps me on the pulse and sharp. Sometimes, it’s good to have an outsider’s perspective, with clear set of expertise, when building projects and IP with collaborators that are very in the know.
Wrestling is something core to Wale’s personality. It’s a niche that he has loved authentically. Over time, he has built amazing inroads into this world. It’s a great lesson for artists to follow their passions and invest their energy with communities that matter to them.
It’s been a joy to change roles – from agent to partner & co-producer – and help Wale make this crazy idea come to life. This year, we have the good people at Brooklyn Bowl and Live Nation on board as our venue and promoting partners. Although it’s going to be a packed house, you can still get tickets here.
